It takes a lot of courage for a politician to admit when he was wrong about something, especially if it means backing out of a campaign promise extra-popular with one’s political base.

So I have to give Gov. Sisolak a lot of kudos for rethinking his “ban the scary-looking guns” campaign pledge. There is a ton of great stuff to unpack from his comments on gun control in an interview this week with the Independent, and it’s worth simply annotating:

“Candidly, I think I underestimated the amount of emotion that was involved with some of the rural communities as it comes to firearms,” [Sisolak] said. 

I was worried that Sisolak would be the governor of Las Vegas instead of Nevada. But what this shows is that he’s listening to – and more importantly, giving respect and deference to – a significant part of his constituency that didn’t (and won’t likely) vote for him. In these hyper-partisan, tribal times, that’s something to salute from any elected official.

It is surprising, though, that you can live in Nevada as long as Mr. Sisolak has without previously understanding the hearts and cultures of rural Nevada. It’s a reminder to other Clark County politicians with larger ambitions to get out of the city and understand and appreciate the rest of the state somewhat earlier in their careers. 

“We’re dealing with the sheriff of Humboldt County, we’re dealing with sheriffs that are just saying we’re not going to enforce the (background checks) law. I mean, that’s problematic.” 

Any government official in a free society has a competing responsibility to enforce the laws, but to only do so in a way that does not violate the fundamental rights of others. If the Legislature passed a law saying it was illegal to criticize the governor, that law would be plainly unconstitutional, and I would condemn any cop who tried to enforce such a law, from elected sheriffs to rookie swing-shifters. And it would be no excuse in my mind that the Supreme Court had yet to formally declare such a law unconstitutional.

Our new “red flag” laws are a closer question constitutionally speaking, but close enough to the line that I’m comfortable with law enforcement officials deciding to err on the side of not abridging fundamental rights. But beyond even that, it is wise of the governor to recognize that successfully governing a free society requires the consent of the governed. When a critical mass of people refuse to obey or enforce a law because they feel it’s illegitimate, the prudent government will back off.

“I didn’t think it would be that emotionally charged or that it’s a litmus test issue for folks that don’t understand, or don’t want to take the time to understand, when we’re trying to explain to them.”

I think the governor is truly trying to honestly come to grips with a point of view he’s not been previously familiar with, but some arrogance that comes of having been an elected official for a long time slips in here. “These people just don’t understand what I’m telling them” is as inaccurate as it is condescending. Folks in rural Nevada (and plenty of gun owners in non-rural Nevada) understand exactly what so many of these anti-gun groups are all about (if you don’t know, a failed presidential candidate can spell it out for you), and understood better than the governor did the due process problems with last year’s legislation. 

“I don’t have enough of an intimate knowledge about exactly what an assault rifle is,” he said. “You know, I’ve met with folks, I’m trying to become more educated. It’s not the look of a weapon that makes an assault rifle. Is it the velocity? Is it the expanded capacity to rapid-fire? I mean, those are the kinds of things.” 

It’s a shame that the governor didn’t educate himself on what he wanted to ban before promising to ban it. But (and I mean this sincerely) better late than never. And let me save him some time – Gov. Sisolak will never learn “exactly what an assault rifle is,” because the term “assault rifle” is a political term, not a technical one. The definition is whatever is politically convenient to whomever is using the phrase, and nothing more. 

The fact that the governor is pointing out the obvious will win him no points with the more rabidly tribal members of his base. But speaking the plain truth will earn him real respect among his saner friends and critics alike, including me. I hope he continues to stick to his guns (so to speak) in the face of what is sure to be some backlash on these comments from the left.

“Once you ban one thing, you ban product A, they come up with product B. That’s going to be the same thing that product A did. All you’re doing is making more money for gun manufacturers.”

Again, here is the newly self-styled progressive champion talking about the futility of regulating for the sake of regulating, and preaching the wisdom of a lighter government hand. Good for him.

***

The lessons the governor is learning about firearms don’t have to stop with that one issue. Listen seriously to people who disagree with you – you’re much more likely to grow that way. Don’t be afraid to admit mistakes. Don’t make promises that can’t be kept, or laws that can’t be enforced. Human beings are clever, and for good or ill, will easily find ways to side-step poorly crafted regulations. Educate yourself about whatever you intend to regulate before deciding if or how to do the regulating. 

And for my friends on the right who would give the governor no quarter, or read these comments nefariously, why would you want to push him back in his partisan corner?  I disagree a great deal with the governor, although not as much as I disagree with the more strident members of his base. But we should all agree that coming out of one’s political shell to respond positively to those unlikely to vote for you in the next election is a step in the right direction towards dousing the flames of these absurdly and self-destructively partisan times. 

Orrin Johnson has been writing and commenting on Nevada and national politics since 2007. He started with an independent blog, First Principles, and was a regular columnist for the Reno Gazette-Journal from 2015-2016. By day, he is a criminal defense attorney in Reno. Follow him on Twitter @orrinjohnson, or contact him at [email protected].